 Jean
Harlow, born as "Harlean Carpenter", (March
3, 1911 - June 7, 1937), US film actress, became known
as the "original blonde bombshell", predating
Marilyn Monroe as a blonde sex symbol. Jean was the
first blonde to be cast in 'bad girl roles'. Before
her, bad girls in movies were always dark-haired and
exotic looking. She made over 36 films during a career
that lasted only 10 years, and had a talent for comedy
as well as drama that is still recognized today by record
numbers of fans and film critics alike. She was born at Kansas
City, Missouri, the daughter of Mont Clair Carpenter,
a dentist, and his wife, Jean Harlow Carpenter. Mother
Jean, as she was called, divorced Harlean's father and
moved to Hollywood with hopes of becoming an actress
herself. Shortly afterward she remarried and moved to
Chicago, where Jean attended high school. At the age
of 16, Jean eloped with a wealthy young business man
and the couple moved to Los Angeles, California.
Jean wanted only to
be a wife and mother, but to please Mother Jean she
looked for work as an extra in films. In the beginning
Jean landed bit parts in silent films such as Why is
a Plumber? (1927), Moran of the Marines (1928), and
The Love Parade (1929). She has a more substantial role
in Laurel and Hardy's short Double Whoopee (1929). By
1930, Jean and her husband had divorced, and she got
her first major role when producer Howard Hughes cast
her in the World War I film Hell's Angels (1930).
In 1931, Harlow began
to gain popularity when she appeared in The Public Enemy,
Goldie, The Secret Six, with Clark Gable, and Platinum
Blonde. In 1932 she had bigger roles in Red-Headed Woman
and Red Dust, her second film with Clark Gable. Harlow
and Gable worked well together, and starred in a total
of six films together. It was during the making of Red
Dust that Harlow's second husband, MGM producer Paul
Bern committed suicide.
By 1933, Jean was becoming
a superstar. She had a great comedic part in Dinner
at Eight, and later that year she starred in Bombshell.
She was also married in 1933 for a short time to cinematographer
Harold Rosson. Jean then starred in two more films with
Clark Gable, China Seas (1935), and Wife vs. Secretary
(1936).
Following the end of
her third marriage she met MGM star William Powell.
They were engaged for two years, but before they could
marry Jean became ill. While filming Saratoga (1937)
with Clark Gable, she was hospitalized with uremic poisoning
and kidney failure, a result from scarlet fever she
suffered from during childhood. She died shortly afterward
at the age of 26, and is buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial
Park Cemetery, in Los Angeles, California.
Filmography
Moran of the Marines
(1928)
Love Parade (1929)
Saturday Night Kid (1929)
Hell's Angels (1930)
The Public Enemy (1931)
Goldie (1931)
The Secret Six (1931)
Platinum Blonde (1931)
The Beast of the City (1932)
Red-Headed Woman (1932)
Red Dust (1932)
Hold Your Man (1933)
Dinner at Eight (1933)
What the Scotch Started (1933)
Bombshell (1933)
The Girl from Missouri (1934)
Reckless (1935)
China Seas (1935)
Riff Raff (1935)
Wife vs. Secretary (1936)
Suzy (1936)
Libeled Lady (1936)
Personal Property (1937)
Saratoga (1937) .
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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